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Church News

It was Monday of the big windstorm, near 1 p.m. The coffin was a soft pink. The casket spray was deep pink carnations; the perfect choice for a 92-year-old grandmother.

We drove through the cemetery to her final resting place. Family and friends gathered, though not many friends left if you live to be 92.
The funeral was scheduled for 1 p.m. A few moments before, everyone left the warmth of their cars and moved into the fierce bitter wind and rain to say goodbye for the last time.

It was a desert time for all involved. Actually for the deceased as she waits for “the trumpet to sound, where the dead shall be raised imperishable…” Certainly a desert time for her son who, four months earlier, had buried his son in a neighboring plot. Certainly a desert time for all who, loving the deceased, felt the sting of her death and remembered their own immortality.

As I stood before the coffin and the small huddled mass of mourners, the wind blew wildly where it chose to blow and we heard the sound of it. I began, praying my words would reach the mourners and not be carried off in that wind.

“Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servant. Acknowledge we beseech You, a sheep of Your own fold, a lamb of Your own flock, a sinner of Your own redeeming. Receive her into the arms of Your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the Saints in light.”

I read Psalm 118 and then came the oasis in the desert. The promise of life through Jesus Christ;

“Almighty God, by the death and burial of Jesus, your anointed, you have destroyed death and sanctified the graves of all your saints. Keep our sister, whose body we now lay to rest, in the company of all your saints and, at the last, raise her up to share with all your faithful people the endless joy and peace won through the glorious resurrection of Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.”

In spite of the wind and cold, the Word was heard. Those in that desert received a refreshing drink from the water of life, Jesus Christ!

The church season of Lent began Wednesday, February 21. Christians all over the world went to church to participate in what is known as Ash Wednesday, the official beginning of the Lenten season, the 40 days, not including Sundays, before Easter Sunday. During this service ashes are placed on our forehead in the shape of the cross, while the pastor says, “You are dust and to dust you will return.” It is meant as a reminder of our mortality.

I remember having a conversation with a young man who said, “I don’t believe in God, I am my God.” Beyond my thinking – that is a statement of what sin is – believing we are God, I wondered just what this young man was going to do when he discovered himself in one of life’s deserts. Could he offer himself hope? Where does he turn when he is feeling tempted to ruin his life with excesses? How will he respond when others trust him and he finds himself not trustworthy? Will he be able to give up his life for others? Is he capable of always being forgiving? I think not, but he will discover these on his own. Being God is a big job, clearly bigger than any of us can manage. The season of Lent is intended to remind us of that fact, while inspiring us to renew our relationship with God by remembering God’s promises to us.

Lent is a desert time in the church. A time when we consider such questions as these; what do you believe about God’s promises to you? What can you “confess with the mouth?” What are places of trial in your life? How does it feel to be tempted? When you find yourself in times of trial, what would you need to help you resist acting in ways you’ll regret later?

During the season of Lent, we pare down worship – more solemn, more contemplative. We spend time contemplating who we are in relationship to God. We review our relationship with God and decide if we will continue that relationship by responding to God’s invitation to return to the relationship. The prophet Joel reminds us that God is “...merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”

During Lent, we spend more time in prayer, more time in worship, more time with those who also seek to renew their relationship with God. At Trinity Community Church, we continue to worship on Sundays at 11 a.m., but we add a soup supper at 6 p.m. on Thursday evenings, followed by a brief worship service at 6:45 p.m. The choir meets directly following worship. If you are called to review your relationship or lack of relationship with God, come join us; Sundays or Thursdays or both, as we prepare to renew our relationship with God at the celebration of Easter.